After my recent trip to China, I have become a huge fan of green tea! I have been experimenting with a lot of varieties - some are strong, some have a pleasant taste and some smell so good!

But one thing is for sure - drinking this tea after my meals helps me relax! I feel very light and refreshed!

I just happened to come across an article why we should drink green tea so just wanted to share it with you all -

1. GOOD BYE TO HEADACHESThe Chinese have been using it for over 4,000 years to treat problems like headaches and depression.2. CUT YOUR CANCER RISKSeveral polyphenols - the potent antioxidants green tea's famous for - seem to help keep cancer cells from gaining a foothold in the body, by discouraging their growth and kill present cancer cells without harming the rest of the healthy tissues in the body. Study after study has found that people who regularly drink green tea reduce their risk of breast, stomach, esophagus, colon, and/or prostate cancer.3. SOOTHE AND PROTECT YOUR SKIN Got a cut, scrape, or bite, and a little leftover green tea? Soak a cotton pad in it. The tea is a natural antiseptic that relieves itching and swelling. Try it on inflamed breakouts and blemishes, sunburns, even puffy eyelids. Green tea applied directly to the skin (or consumed) helps block sun-triggered skin cancer, which is why you're seeing green tea in more and more sunscreens and moisturizers.4. STEADY YOUR BLOOD PRESSUREHaving healthy blood pressure - meaning below 120/80 - is one thing. Keeping it that way is quite another. But people who sip just half a cup a day are almost 50 percent less likely to wind up with hypertension than non-drinkers. Credit goes to the polyphenols again (especially one known as ECGC). They help keep blood vessels from contracting and raising blood pressure.

5. HEALTHY HEARTThe younger and healthier your arteries are, the younger and healthier you are. So fight plaque build-up in your blood vessels, which ups the risk of heart disease and stroke, adds years to your biological age (or Real Age), and saps your energy too. Green tea deters your body from absorbing artery-clogging fat and cholesterol.6 STAY YOUNGWhen taken in proper amounts, antioxidants helps slow down the aging process to a certain degree. This can help delay visible sign of aging like wrinkles or gray hair. The antioxidants in green tea may even delay the onset of bodily aches and pains associated with growing old.

7. LOSE WEIGHTGreen tea speeds up your body's calorie-burning process, which is an essential aid in weight loss management. Fat oxidation is the process where in the food we digest is eventually turned into essential energy for the body. By increasing this process, more energy is expended by the body, helping burn up the unwanted pounds easier.8. HEATHY TOOTHGreen tea inhibits bacteria that cause cavities in teeth. Also, there is fluoride present in tea, which helps protect against cavities.Note - Green tea is strictly prohibited for pregnant women. This is because green tea can actually reduce the effectiveness of folic acid, which is very essential in order to prevent neural tube defects during the first month of conception in pregnant women.

Insomnia - due to the fact that it contains caffeine.

However, green tea contains less caffeine than coffee. ( Green tea contains about half of the amount of caffeine found in black tea and about a quarter of the amount of caffeine that is found in one regular cup of coffee making it a healthy drink you can consume at just about any time of the day.)

With a little naughty ones running around the house, we hardly get time to take care of ourselves , forget about going to beauty parlors and spas (though once in a while we should take a break and let the daddys do the duty). Simply give a few minutes to your skin each night and you will see improvement and enhanced beauty within a few days.